0:00:01 > 0:00:06This programme contains some strong language and some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting
0:00:19 > 0:00:23This famine is one of the great shameful things of our time.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26And I find it an indictment of us and a pathetic way of living,
0:00:26 > 0:00:31that a piece of plastic seven inches across with
0:00:31 > 0:00:34a hole in the middle is the price of someone's life this year.
0:00:41 > 0:00:4630 years ago, two young rock stars set out to challenge the world.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49I turn on the news and I just see those things going past
0:00:49 > 0:00:50and I don't know what to do.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Bob Geldof, he says, "I don't know what to do, but I'm going to do something."
0:00:53 > 0:00:55Wow! You know? I like that.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01This is the story of how Bob Geldof
0:01:01 > 0:01:06and Bono used their celebrity status to take on the wiliest
0:01:06 > 0:01:10politicians on earth to try to end poverty in Africa.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15What was breathtaking was how Bobby and Bono set such a high goal.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20This was politics at the highest table, where things are decided.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22Not talked about, decided.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28We just had a great visit in the Oval Office.
0:01:28 > 0:01:33When we saw that we could be effective, it was very hard
0:01:33 > 0:01:34then to go away again.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41But with extreme poverty continuing to plague Africa,
0:01:41 > 0:01:44Bono and Geldof have also been accused of arrogance.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50They go into a G20 or G8.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52Go then, hang around and they think that will just make
0:01:52 > 0:01:54a difference.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57If you want to really make a difference in Africa,
0:01:57 > 0:01:59why are you not speaking to us?
0:02:00 > 0:02:04And they have been criticised for lack of results.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08These celebrities, if economic growth and poverty
0:02:08 > 0:02:12reduction are their motivations, they have failed miserably.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Have these two rock stars really changed the world?
0:02:22 > 0:02:28We come to you tonight with 3.8 billion people in our back pockets.
0:02:30 > 0:02:31How can they refuse us?
0:02:51 > 0:02:54One of the not unimportant advantages of ending world
0:02:54 > 0:02:56hunger would be that you wouldn't have to listen to me or
0:02:56 > 0:03:01my friends singing about feeding the world when you're actually doing it.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03So there's a lot at stake here.
0:03:06 > 0:03:07How you doing, Bob?
0:03:07 > 0:03:11Bono and Bob Geldof had been campaigning for decades.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15They run their own 30 million lobbying organisation,
0:03:15 > 0:03:18and they've been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23We've heard so much about your President.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28Today, they are seen by many as established icons of aid,
0:03:28 > 0:03:32loved by some and loathed by others. How did they achieve this?
0:03:32 > 0:03:35And how much impact have they really had?
0:03:39 > 0:03:41The African people,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44they don't want aid as an ongoing basis. They need it now.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46And these countries have spent...
0:03:46 > 0:03:49When it started, it all seemed so simple,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53way back in 1984 when they watched TV reports that shocked
0:03:53 > 0:03:56the world and changed their own lives for ever.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04'Dawn, and as the sun breaks through the piercing
0:04:04 > 0:04:08'chill of night on the plain outside Korem, it lights up a biblical
0:04:08 > 0:04:09'famine, now in the 20th century.'
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Without the world noticing, drought
0:04:18 > 0:04:22and civil war had quietly created the worst famine in memory.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28You know, you don't normally cry at the news,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31but having seen what I saw, this had a massive impact.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39'The size of the disaster is stunning.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43'At Korem, in the mountains, 200,000 plead for help at centres
0:04:43 > 0:04:45'which can feed only a tenth of that.'
0:05:32 > 0:05:37Err... the instinctive human reaction is to be disgusted
0:05:37 > 0:05:42and ashamed and enraged and angry, in my case.
0:05:42 > 0:05:48But unlike, say, being a bus conductor or an insurance salesman
0:05:48 > 0:05:51or a bank manager, I can write tunes.
0:05:51 > 0:05:52Hello, George. Are you awake?
0:05:54 > 0:05:57'And I thought if a lot of the stars doing it,'
0:05:57 > 0:06:00then it's more likely to be a hit than if I did it.
0:06:00 > 0:06:01# In our world of plenty... #
0:06:03 > 0:06:07It's ironic that the one who was the most reluctant to do
0:06:07 > 0:06:10the record was this young kid I knew from Ireland called Bono.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16Bono, singer in rock band U2, found it hard to believe that
0:06:16 > 0:06:19Geldof was involved in bigger matters, like saving the world.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26I want you to buy our record. I want to be very rich, I promise you.
0:06:26 > 0:06:27We're not on a crusade.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30All we want to do is to play the music we're doing and have a good time.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41This is a man who walked around this city, Dublin, with a T-shirt
0:06:41 > 0:06:45saying, "Looking after number one", and a song called
0:06:45 > 0:06:49Looking After One, and a modus of "looking after number one."
0:06:49 > 0:06:51So why would Bob want to do this?
0:07:00 > 0:07:04I thought by Christmas, you know, we'd have maximum,
0:07:04 > 0:07:09say, £100,000, and I would hand that to Oxfam or Save the Children
0:07:09 > 0:07:11and that would be that, that's the most I could do.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15# Feed the world
0:07:15 > 0:07:20# Let them know it's Christmas time
0:07:20 > 0:07:22# Feed the world... #
0:07:22 > 0:07:26I thought that would be it. But no, it became this phenomenon.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30It's become the fastest selling single ever.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Though the song raised 6 million, it would hardly make an impact.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42'There's not enough food for half these people.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45'Rumours of a shipment can set off panic.'
0:07:50 > 0:07:54Geldof decided he would need to do better, and set about organising
0:07:54 > 0:07:57the biggest rock concert the world had ever seen.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13You've got to get on the phone and take the money out of your pocket.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Don't go to the pub tonight, please stay in and give us the money.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19There are people dying NOW! So give me the money.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25# I can't believe the news today
0:08:25 > 0:08:29# I can't close my eyes, Make it go away... #
0:08:29 > 0:08:32Today's Live Aid worldwide concert has already
0:08:32 > 0:08:35raised at least £30 million for the starving
0:08:35 > 0:08:38people of Africa, and the phones are still buzzing.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42To get this unprecedented response from the public, the campaign
0:08:42 > 0:08:45had to be clear and simple.
0:08:45 > 0:08:46But had it become too simple?
0:08:51 > 0:08:53There is a moral imperative for us to act
0:08:53 > 0:08:55when those type of things happen.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00But what I don't appreciate is that the imagery from these tragic
0:09:00 > 0:09:04situations becomes the main image of Africa.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08It is so damaging, psychologically, to a whole continent,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12a whole population of people, to portray them in this manner.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14It is basically laced with pity.
0:09:14 > 0:09:15Are you ready, guys?
0:09:19 > 0:09:24For me, it was a campaign of white people coming on horses to
0:09:24 > 0:09:27rescue the poor black people, and I did not like that.
0:09:27 > 0:09:32# Feed the world... #
0:09:32 > 0:09:36The concerts did, though, succeed in one thing, getting the public
0:09:36 > 0:09:41to care about people in Africa in a way that had never been seen before.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45It was a game-changing phenomenon
0:09:45 > 0:09:49because it was the first time ordinary people around the rich
0:09:49 > 0:09:54world woke up to the realities of hunger elsewhere.
0:09:57 > 0:10:04Now that then awoke politicians to the news that actually,
0:10:04 > 0:10:05their own electorates,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08who wanted not just to reach into their own pockets,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11but wanted their governments to do something about it.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Individuals, organisations
0:10:16 > 0:10:19and governments donated over 1 billion to Ethiopia,
0:10:19 > 0:10:23and food and supplies began flooding into the country.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27When you think of things like Band Aid, Live aid,
0:10:27 > 0:10:31the degree to which they enable their governments to either
0:10:31 > 0:10:35continue generous aid or to increase the aid, that is
0:10:35 > 0:10:41the more impactful part, harder to measure, of the events than
0:10:41 > 0:10:45the specific dollar amount that was raised during the event.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Their response was quite incredible.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54I believe that it saved millions of lives.
0:10:54 > 0:11:02Almost everybody would have died had that aid not reached that area.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07But the food given would not solve anything long-term.
0:11:09 > 0:11:10What was to be done now?
0:11:19 > 0:11:24Myself and Ally spent, I think, five weeks in Ethiopia
0:11:24 > 0:11:27after Live Aid, working, didn't tell anyone.
0:11:27 > 0:11:34And on the way home, something inside of us knew there's more to
0:11:34 > 0:11:36extreme poverty than unfortunate circumstances.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49A major reason behind Africa's difficulties
0:11:49 > 0:11:51was the rich world itself.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56It was the height of the Cold War, and both East
0:11:56 > 0:11:57and West were using aid
0:11:57 > 0:12:01and massive loans as a hidden reward for friendly dictators in Africa.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09By the '90s, with the Cold War over, the West demanded that
0:12:09 > 0:12:10repayments begin.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15The sums were so huge that little money was left for anything else.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Still, the rich nations refused to face up to their own responsibility.
0:12:24 > 0:12:29It was a hugely current debate in the academic and policy world.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33It wasn't any kind of a debate in the public world.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36And I thought, you know, is there some way of going to
0:12:36 > 0:12:41the people who had put together the Live Aid and Band Aid concerts,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Bob Geldof, people like Bono, and say to them, "Look, did you know
0:12:45 > 0:12:49"that the country for which you raised that money, every year
0:12:49 > 0:12:52"has to spend more repaying debts than you raised for them?"
0:13:01 > 0:13:04I think what was so important about Jamie Drummond's call to me
0:13:04 > 0:13:12was that subject, which was a wound not fully closed
0:13:12 > 0:13:17over from Ethiopia opened up again.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21Live Aid and Band Aid had been,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24if you like, the Band-Aid solution, and now we're going to the real
0:13:24 > 0:13:26heart of the matter. We're not just going to raise money through
0:13:26 > 0:13:29charity concerts, we're going to actually solve this problem.
0:13:31 > 0:13:36Bono called me about doing the debt campaign and he said,
0:13:36 > 0:13:37"What do you think we should do?"
0:13:37 > 0:13:39So I said, "Use your influence,"
0:13:39 > 0:13:43cos the cult of celebrity was now a currency,
0:13:43 > 0:13:44you could spend that currency.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52And I had this idea to try and use the British Music Awards,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56the British equivalent of the Grammys, to communicate this
0:13:56 > 0:13:58extremely complicated issue of debt cancellation
0:13:58 > 0:14:03and drop the debt to a mainstream, popular TV audience.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06OK. Have a look at this, ladies and gentlemen.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17You know, Bono's quite worried. How is he going to talk about
0:14:17 > 0:14:21debt cancellation to a bunch of teeny boppers
0:14:21 > 0:14:25and people tuning in to watch their pop star favourites?
0:14:25 > 0:14:27The banks won't cancel the debts
0:14:27 > 0:14:31unless the politicians tell the banks to do that, and the
0:14:31 > 0:14:35politicians won't tell the banks unless we tell them to do that.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39So that's why I am here. Are you with me?
0:14:40 > 0:14:44You know, I was in the audience at the Brits, watching it all unfold.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46He says, "Are you in?"
0:14:46 > 0:14:49And part of us are all thinking,
0:14:49 > 0:14:53"No, they're not going to be in. It's going to be a disaster."
0:14:53 > 0:14:56We have a chance, a once-in-a-millennium chance to change the world,
0:14:56 > 0:15:00and we have with us tonight somebody who has already changed
0:15:00 > 0:15:04the world. Mohammed Ali is with us tonight. He's in the building!
0:15:04 > 0:15:05On your feet!
0:15:13 > 0:15:15A fake award was given to Mohammed...
0:15:15 > 0:15:17- CROWD:- Mohammed, Mohammed, Mohammed, Mohammed...
0:15:17 > 0:15:21..and the crowds and the music and the coverage!
0:15:21 > 0:15:23It was unbelievable.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25- CROWD:- Mohammed, Mohammed, Mohammed, Mohammed...
0:15:25 > 0:15:28We hijaked the Brits.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31On all these different levels, it just worked beautifully.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34But we also needed to get global coverage.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42This is Sir Geldof, who organised a major
0:15:42 > 0:15:45campaign against famine in Ethiopia.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Unexpected bedfellows. That's what we do.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50This is Mr Bono, who is a singer.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52'That's how to get attention in the media.'
0:15:52 > 0:15:54He has a gift for you.
0:15:54 > 0:15:55My glasses, I give to you!
0:15:58 > 0:16:01Get the Pope wearing your sunglasses. Now that's...
0:16:01 > 0:16:02That's action!
0:16:02 > 0:16:04And suddenly, we had momentum.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08- CROWD:- What do we want? Stop the debt! When do we want it? Now!
0:16:09 > 0:16:12'Public disgust at the rich world's demands for repayment
0:16:12 > 0:16:15'from the poor world spilled onto the streets of Cologne this
0:16:15 > 0:16:19'summer at a meeting of the group of eight industrial nations.'
0:16:19 > 0:16:22This was the moment the campaigners had been aiming for,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26all the most powerful leaders in one room.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29But the politicians would still need to be convinced.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35We were in Cologne at the G8 summit and Bono and Geldof's
0:16:35 > 0:16:40celebrity status was something that politicians so desperately wanted.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42They'd do almost anything to get it.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46They want pictures with the stars.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49I mean, even back in '85,
0:16:49 > 0:16:52most of the day in Congress was spent shaking hands
0:16:52 > 0:16:56with Congressmen for their local Congressional newspaper, most of it.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00Half of them hadn't a clue who I was, but they put it in there.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05We had a row about whether or not the G8 had done enough,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07and about whether or not it was appropriate for Bono
0:17:07 > 0:17:10and Geldof to have their photograph taken with Tony Blair, who was
0:17:10 > 0:17:13going to say, "Look, here I am with these guys,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16"and therefore that shows I'm a good guy and I've done it."
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Well, actually, they hadn't quite done it.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21We sat and talked for a long time about whether we'd smile or not
0:17:21 > 0:17:24cos we didn't feel like smiling because he hadn't given us anything.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28But if we smiled, you know, then there had to be a price.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32You know, I mean, it's nonsense!
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Fame and celebrity helped, and big promises on debt reductions
0:17:41 > 0:17:46were extracted from every G8 nation, except the most important one.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50But Bono had special connections.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Clinton and Bono's relationship went back to Northern Ireland.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59For most of the '90s, Bono was very
0:17:59 > 0:18:02involved in campaigning on Northern Ireland.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05And Clinton was very involved in peace in Northern Ireland and
0:18:05 > 0:18:08they developed a strong relationship through a lot of that work.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12While Geldof stayed behind to continue
0:18:12 > 0:18:17working on the European campaign, Bono went to see his old friend.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24I remember sitting in front of President Clinton, pitching him
0:18:24 > 0:18:27debt cancellation, and he's got a lot on his mind. It's in the
0:18:27 > 0:18:31middle of a terrible time for him, everything was going pear-shaped.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38You can't just turn up and ask a President to do something.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42You have to go out, solving their problems for them.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46So I just said, "Umm... Mr President,
0:18:46 > 0:18:53"you're going to be leader of the free world on New Year's Eve, on the
0:18:53 > 0:18:57"night as we turn from one millennium into the other. You must have
0:18:57 > 0:19:01"some amazing speech planned, you must have some big announcement?"
0:19:04 > 0:19:06I just notice him looking at me like,
0:19:06 > 0:19:09CLINTON'S ACCENT: "Just talk to me a little bit about this thing.
0:19:09 > 0:19:15"So there's an announcement and we're going to cancel these debts
0:19:15 > 0:19:16"and it's a justice issue."
0:19:16 > 0:19:18And I could just see him warming up.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29We were sitting inside the IMF meetings.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31And we saw Clinton come up onto the podium,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34and you know how you listen in the background? "Murmur, murmur."
0:19:38 > 0:19:43We all must provide our fair share of financing the global debt relief.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47Today, I am directing my administration to make it possible
0:19:47 > 0:19:52to forgive 100% of the debt these countries owe to the United States.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57APPLAUSE
0:19:58 > 0:20:02I can't tell you. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07APPLAUSE
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Bono came to Washington and met with Bill Clinton and said,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12"We really need to cancel these debts."
0:20:12 > 0:20:14And Bill Clinton said, "Great! Let's do it."
0:20:14 > 0:20:16And Bono thought, "Great! My work is done."
0:20:16 > 0:20:19What he didn't realise at that time is, of course, there were
0:20:19 > 0:20:22535 other people that he had to convince,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24in this case, the US Congress.
0:20:30 > 0:20:36There's the really bizarre moment when you discover
0:20:36 > 0:20:40the President of the United States, he's not in charge.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43That was a real moment for me.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49It was plain that we needed to persuade America to
0:20:49 > 0:20:51lead on this issue.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Bobby Shriver came in and introduced Bono and all of us
0:20:54 > 0:20:57to his family business, which is American politics.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02His uncle had been President, you know, JFK, Bobby Kennedy.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05This pretty amazing pedigree in this family.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Certainly, in democratic politics, Bobby could certainly
0:21:08 > 0:21:09introduce us to some people.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16In America, you only get one chance to make your first impression,
0:21:16 > 0:21:18and I knew that, looking at myself,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21and to some extent, looking at Bono, that people would look at it...
0:21:21 > 0:21:24They would have a meeting but they might think...
0:21:26 > 0:21:29"These guys are going to come in to play the violin."
0:21:29 > 0:21:31Do you know what I mean?
0:21:31 > 0:21:33We absolutely could not have that happen.
0:21:33 > 0:21:39We had to come in and have the people think, "Oh my God!
0:21:39 > 0:21:41"These guys are serious,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44"they're not going to go away and they're going to win."
0:21:47 > 0:21:52I knew almost immediately that I was out of my depth.
0:21:52 > 0:21:57This was economics and I'm a singer in a rock 'n' roll band,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00so I had to go to school.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10We needed to know about how the financing in the Congress was
0:22:10 > 0:22:13going to work, what the World Bank's position was, what the
0:22:13 > 0:22:18IMF's position was, and we needed to know that in real, thorough detail.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21A very good friend of mine was the head of the World Bank,
0:22:21 > 0:22:25so when I said to him, "I'm bringing this musician friend of mine and we
0:22:25 > 0:22:31"need to go to graduate school right away and really get to know this,"
0:22:31 > 0:22:32he said, "Well, OK."
0:22:37 > 0:22:41People in Washington DC, I think they liked the data-based
0:22:41 > 0:22:43and evidence-based approach,
0:22:43 > 0:22:47but we didn't have the fiscally Conservative Republicans on side.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53The powers in congress thought foreign aid was a waste of money
0:22:53 > 0:22:57and that Africa was so poor that it was of no interest.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00But there were exceptions.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03Some people...
0:23:03 > 0:23:06Some positive things popped up that you would never have expected.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08Like John Kasich. I mean, he was an act of God.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13He was an important member of the hard-core Republicans,
0:23:13 > 0:23:17hard-core, and he himself was very furious about matters.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20I agreed that I would...
0:23:20 > 0:23:23I'd help him to advance this cause.
0:23:23 > 0:23:28But tromping around Capitol Hill with pop stars and celebrities,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31it wasn't some popular idea.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33I remember Bono saying to me,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35"Why won't these Congressmen meet with me?"
0:23:35 > 0:23:38And I said, "You know, Bono, people don't really like foreign aid."
0:23:38 > 0:23:43And if you're a Representative, you don't go back home and say,
0:23:43 > 0:23:45"Well, you know, I just forgave a lot of debt in Africa."
0:23:45 > 0:23:47That doesn't get you any cheers.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49In fact, it can get you a primary opponent.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55What happened was, frankly, a lot of the Congressmen
0:23:55 > 0:23:58and even some of the Senators didn't really care about meeting
0:23:58 > 0:23:59with him, but all the staff did.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01And there'd be all these staff people standing
0:24:01 > 0:24:03out in the hallway, and, you know, a lot of them
0:24:03 > 0:24:06were like, "You've got to meet with him."
0:24:06 > 0:24:07He could get into any office in the Senate
0:24:07 > 0:24:09cos the assistants out there would say,
0:24:09 > 0:24:13"That's Bono. I would need his autograph. We're going to get him in."
0:24:13 > 0:24:15And, of course, when we're in, we're meeting people,
0:24:15 > 0:24:18we're meeting the Chief of Staff.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24And we're not giving it the, "Oh, yeah.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28"You're the... the enemy." We're not playing that game.
0:24:32 > 0:24:33Yeah. Bring him in.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Bono flew from Ireland to be here,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40and he has been, without question, the most dedicated
0:24:40 > 0:24:44and driving force behind this whole initiative from day one.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49After intense lobbying, the US congress agreed to a compromise,
0:24:49 > 0:24:53to cancel half of Africa's debt.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56This led to the rest of the rich world doing the same.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58We were ecstatic.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01But for good luck or maybe the grace of God, this thing came through.
0:25:02 > 0:25:07'Tonight, in London's Trafalgar Square, a celebration.'
0:25:07 > 0:25:10No longer is the fourth richest country
0:25:10 > 0:25:12on the planet a nation of spivs,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15debt collectors, bailiffs and repo men.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24In Africa, there were fewer celebrations.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29African debt was so enormous that much of it could in fact
0:25:29 > 0:25:31never have been repaid.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Having half the debt written off on paper made Western
0:25:36 > 0:25:40politicians look good without actually costing them much,
0:25:40 > 0:25:42and still left huge amounts owing.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47Many Africans did not feel the benefits.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50It was a triumph to get the creditors to face reality,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53so quite a lot of the debt forgiveness
0:25:53 > 0:25:55was just that facing of reality.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58It was useful, but it wasn't actually a new transfer
0:25:58 > 0:26:05of resources to Africa because the debt could not have been repaid.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08The people living in villages don't see this effect.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10They don't see that.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12It's nice, on the newspaper, said
0:26:12 > 0:26:16our debt of, you know, how many millions has been cancelled.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18But it doesn't mean that, you know, now we cancelled our debt,
0:26:18 > 0:26:22let's build schools. It doesn't happen.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24The problem and the mistake that people have made
0:26:24 > 0:26:26is in thinking this is the silver bullet,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29and everything will be all right and there will be no more poverty.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32Aid and debt relief are not a silver bullet.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35They're an important element of the package, but I don't even think
0:26:35 > 0:26:37they're the most important element of the package.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39Debt relief was just the first step.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52Undaunted by the complexities of reducing poverty,
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Bono and Geldof decided to continue on their quest.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01When we saw that we could be effective,
0:27:01 > 0:27:06it was very hard then to go away again,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09back to a normal life, back to your civilian life,
0:27:09 > 0:27:13which I really wanted to do and which my band really wanted me to do.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18This time, to make a bigger dent on poverty, Bono
0:27:18 > 0:27:21and his group would plan a stronger attack.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25They began to plot their master plan for Africa.
0:27:26 > 0:27:31They would not only fight to have all remaining debt abolished,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34but would also fight disease, increase aid,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37and achieve fair trade agreements with Africa.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42They decided to set themselves up as lobbyists in Washington DC.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47But to do this, they would need lots of money.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49I got a phone call and it was Bobby Shriver.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51He was yelling into the phone about,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54"We're doing something and you and Bill Gates should really be involved
0:27:54 > 0:27:56"and we need a million dollars!"
0:27:56 > 0:27:58I thought he was a little crazy!
0:28:01 > 0:28:05He said to me a few times, "Bono would like to meet you."
0:28:05 > 0:28:07And I thought, "Well...
0:28:07 > 0:28:10"Hey, I'm serious about poverty and the numbers
0:28:10 > 0:28:14"and what has impact, and he's a musician.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16"That's not going to be a high priority for me."
0:28:19 > 0:28:22I arranged a meeting for them in Bill's suite
0:28:22 > 0:28:24at the Waldorf Astoria in New York,
0:28:24 > 0:28:28and I was terrified that this meeting was not going to go well.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35Even though he had this utterly different background,
0:28:35 > 0:28:41I was amazed that he understood about government aid and understood
0:28:41 > 0:28:46this debt relief and what had been going on with that very well.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50So I went back to Melinda and I said, "Hey, Bono's amazing!"
0:28:50 > 0:28:51I was blown away.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57So were philanthropists George Soros
0:28:57 > 0:28:59and Ed Scott, who each chipped in another million.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06You have to start with the belief that a big thing can happen,
0:29:06 > 0:29:10and everyone in that group came from that kind of a tradition.
0:29:10 > 0:29:15In the name of Africa's poor, a lobbying agency was founded
0:29:15 > 0:29:16called DATA.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18The goal was to take on the most powerful
0:29:18 > 0:29:20politicians in the United States.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27Now you had a major, professional lobby
0:29:27 > 0:29:33organisation in Washington. That's so wild an idea, that
0:29:33 > 0:29:37a bunch of people, funded by zulty millionaires, are using all
0:29:37 > 0:29:43that massive brainpower to focus on the poor and the anomaly of poverty.
0:29:48 > 0:29:53Having rich, white, male popstars as spokespeople for the poorest
0:29:53 > 0:29:56of Africa wasn't welcomed by everyone.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01The fact of the matter is, if you went
0:30:01 > 0:30:04and did polls in Europe and the United States
0:30:04 > 0:30:08and you asked people, "Who do you think represents African views?"
0:30:08 > 0:30:11I would bet you that most people would come up with a long
0:30:11 > 0:30:12list of celebrities.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15As an African, I think this is fundamentally flawed
0:30:15 > 0:30:17and I think we should care about that.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23People would prefer to hear from these celebrities
0:30:23 > 0:30:26about what's going on in Africa.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28That not only undermines the African viewpoint,
0:30:28 > 0:30:31it undermines African leadership.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33He said that he is ready to give more money.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36Why are we voting for African leaders
0:30:36 > 0:30:41if their job has been abdicated to other people?
0:30:41 > 0:30:43What kind of a system is this?
0:30:43 > 0:30:45Thank you for being here...
0:30:45 > 0:30:49Bono and Geldof's high profile advocacy has also left some
0:30:49 > 0:30:54African activists feeling that their grassroots work is being undermined.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00What they do, they go into a G20 or G8 or G7,
0:31:00 > 0:31:02go there and hang around, like, have a cup of coffee and
0:31:02 > 0:31:07a couple of wines, have a chat into the panel, have a discussion.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09And they think that will just make a difference.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14But if you wanted to make a difference in Africa,
0:31:14 > 0:31:15why are you not speaking to us?
0:31:16 > 0:31:20We know the situation on the ground on the grassroots level,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23and sometimes we feel insulted, sometimes we feel that even
0:31:23 > 0:31:27the progress of Africa has been seeing we've been making progresses,
0:31:27 > 0:31:30but people will just use it in a different way.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34Bob Geldof, for example, will go and tell you something, you know,
0:31:34 > 0:31:36"Because of Live Aid, this has happened."
0:31:38 > 0:31:40"You the God and you the Saviour!"
0:31:40 > 0:31:41And it doesn't work like that.
0:31:45 > 0:31:51In 2002, the catastrophe of AIDS had further set Africa back.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55This quickly became the first target for the newly-formed lobby group.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02But to make a difference, there was one person of prime importance
0:32:02 > 0:32:04they would need to win around,
0:32:04 > 0:32:06the new President of America.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17When Bush transition was happening, there were no life-saving
0:32:17 > 0:32:19drugs in Africa.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23It was condoms, basically. It was a condom strategy,
0:32:23 > 0:32:24and it was small-scale.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35In an epidemic where one in five people were infected
0:32:35 > 0:32:39and people were dropping like flies, it was like throwing
0:32:39 > 0:32:42a drop of water on a blazing fire.
0:32:44 > 0:32:45Let us pray.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51The richest nation on the globe could change all this
0:32:51 > 0:32:55because antiretroviral drugs had just become available.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59But the religious Conservatives didn't want to.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02They were against spending money on what
0:33:02 > 0:33:06they thought was a disease caused by self-inflicted sinning.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12There was a big block of Christians who supported President Bush
0:33:12 > 0:33:15and we thought about who they were, how to find them,
0:33:15 > 0:33:16what their arguments were.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19We did a lot of thinking about that.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23No federal funds can be used to encourage or promote
0:33:23 > 0:33:25homosexual, sexual activity.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30There was a major nemesis. There was Jesse Helms,
0:33:30 > 0:33:34who was the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39Jesse, the arch-Conservative icon in America...
0:33:39 > 0:33:40icon in America,
0:33:40 > 0:33:44who had openly basically said, "This virus is evil."
0:33:44 > 0:33:46In a sense that...
0:33:46 > 0:33:50From even a faith-based religious standpoint, this is just bad.
0:33:54 > 0:34:00Edge, he said, you know, "Please don't have the Old, Cold Warrior,
0:34:00 > 0:34:01"don't be in a photograph with him."
0:34:01 > 0:34:04And I said, "Edge, not only am I in a photograph with him,
0:34:04 > 0:34:05"I've invited him to the show!"
0:34:05 > 0:34:07And he's like, "Ohhh!"
0:34:16 > 0:34:18We constantly talked about the carrot and the stick.
0:34:18 > 0:34:23If a right-wing Republican Congressperson, who had always said,
0:34:23 > 0:34:27you know, "Foreign aid was throwing money down a rat hole,"
0:34:27 > 0:34:30that we would find a way to co-op that person,
0:34:30 > 0:34:32bring them into our world,
0:34:32 > 0:34:36and then show them that there were benefits to being in that world.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40# Love
0:34:40 > 0:34:43# You shine like a burning star
0:34:43 > 0:34:45# Falling from the sky... #
0:34:45 > 0:34:49I sat next to Jesse Helms, and it was quite an experience!
0:34:50 > 0:34:54They had this VIP room before the concert where everybody gathers
0:34:54 > 0:34:56and presses flesh.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00And the Senators were acting like 13-year-old girls, trying to
0:35:00 > 0:35:02get up to see him and shake his hand.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05It was very interesting to sit in the background
0:35:05 > 0:35:07and just watch it and say, "My God!" You know?
0:35:09 > 0:35:13And the faces of these politicians, you know,
0:35:13 > 0:35:16when they look into the arena, and everyone is cheering for them,
0:35:16 > 0:35:18it's the highlight of their lives.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24Jessie Helms goes to a rock show and, afterwards, I ask him,
0:35:24 > 0:35:26"What was that like?"
0:35:26 > 0:35:28He said, "I looked out there," he said.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31"Everyone has got their hands in the air.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35"They were blowing like a field of corn."
0:35:35 > 0:35:39And I just thought it was the most beautiful image, actually,
0:35:39 > 0:35:42of people with their hands in the air, I'd never heard it like that.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51Having the ear of the religious right,
0:35:51 > 0:35:54Bono and Shriver now went to work reframing the AIDS debate.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00We knew that certain people in the Congress
0:36:00 > 0:36:04did not like the men having sex with men issue.
0:36:04 > 0:36:09But, they liked that idea that a woman breast-feeding her baby
0:36:09 > 0:36:13could take a pill that would prevent the baby from getting AIDS
0:36:13 > 0:36:17from the milk, or from the childbirth.
0:36:17 > 0:36:22Jesse listened and, with that, over time, his feeling,
0:36:22 > 0:36:24especially on the mother to child transmission,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27and built around orphans, was totally transformed.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31I just want to say something about Senator Helms.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34He said he was ashamed of
0:36:34 > 0:36:37how he had thought about AIDS in the wider world.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40Jessie has been a real leader on this subject. >
0:36:40 > 0:36:42He is the leader.
0:36:42 > 0:36:43- Ha, no, no, no. - He's the leader.
0:36:47 > 0:36:52It was Jessie Helms who helped introduce Bono and Bobby to President Bush.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55Bono is a person of faith.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57George W Bush is a person of faith.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00So, he did a very smart thing.
0:37:00 > 0:37:05He brought with him an Irish Bible as a gift for the President.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09They spent the first five, 10 minutes of their personal relationship
0:37:09 > 0:37:13talking about the meaning of faith in their lives.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18And they talked about how the Scriptures talk about
0:37:18 > 0:37:21the care for the poor almost more than any other topic in the Bible
0:37:21 > 0:37:24which, really, I think struck a chord with the President.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26APPLAUSE
0:37:27 > 0:37:29Bono, I appreciate your heart.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32And, to tell you what an influence you've had,
0:37:32 > 0:37:37Dick Cheney walked in the Oval Office, he said,
0:37:37 > 0:37:41"Jessie Helms wants us to listen to Bono's ideas."
0:37:41 > 0:37:44POLITE LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Many of the Republican faithful, they're wondering,
0:37:52 > 0:37:56what is President Bush doing on stage with an Irish rock star
0:37:56 > 0:38:01with long hair and weird sunglasses, why is that happening?
0:38:01 > 0:38:05Honestly the night before that interaction,
0:38:05 > 0:38:08we were in a hotel suite, and Condi Rice was pushing, pushing, pushing
0:38:08 > 0:38:11to get Bono to show up at that event.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14Here's what I know about him.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17First, he's a good musician.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21Secondly, he is willing to use his position in a responsible way.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26After 9/11, the Bush administration, especially Condoleezza Rice,
0:38:26 > 0:38:28wanted to prove that the administration's response
0:38:28 > 0:38:31to the problem of terrorism was not simply military.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35And that meant the use of aid. OK, how do we do that?
0:38:35 > 0:38:38Well, here comes Bono, who's just created DATA.
0:38:38 > 0:38:39And he says, in effect,
0:38:39 > 0:38:43"I am willing to shed some of my liberal credibility,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46"my liberal rock star credibility, on you."
0:38:46 > 0:38:49We just had a meeting with the President of the United States
0:38:49 > 0:38:52about the emergency of AIDS.
0:38:52 > 0:38:57It is the crumbs off our table that we offer these countries,
0:38:57 > 0:39:00and it is not good enough.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03The President of the United States doesn't think it's good enough.
0:39:05 > 0:39:10We were exploiting the compassionate conservatism Bush needed us for.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12They needed us, we needed them.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15We were both in the right space at the right time.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21But politics wasn't the sole reason Bush was playing along.
0:39:21 > 0:39:26He himself wanted to do something big about the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31President Bush hadn't travelled very much to other countries,
0:39:31 > 0:39:34never been to Africa before.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37So he would very quietly send people to Africa and say, "Is this real?
0:39:37 > 0:39:40"I mean, is it really 23 million people have died,
0:39:40 > 0:39:42"and nobody is leading on it?"
0:39:42 > 0:39:43And they came back and said, "Yes".
0:39:46 > 0:39:48When he saw that there was a possibility
0:39:48 > 0:39:53of actually improving significantly the situation in Africa,
0:39:53 > 0:39:55he gave it priority.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57And, when he gave it priority,
0:39:57 > 0:39:59then it became all the rest of our priority.
0:39:59 > 0:40:00POLICE SIRENS
0:40:07 > 0:40:11- MC:- Mr Speaker. The President of the United States.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:40:16 > 0:40:18Today, on the continent of Africa,
0:40:18 > 0:40:21nearly 30 million people have the AIDS virus.
0:40:21 > 0:40:26Yet, across that continent, only 50,000 AIDS victims,
0:40:26 > 0:40:31only 50,000 are receiving the medicine they need.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35I ask the Congress to commit 15 billion over the next five years
0:40:35 > 0:40:37to turn the tide against AIDS
0:40:37 > 0:40:40in the most afflicted nations of Africa and the Caribbean.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55The new initiative would save the lives
0:40:55 > 0:40:58of millions of AIDS patients in Africa.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01But Bush had more on his mind.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05If you look at the speech,
0:41:05 > 0:41:09the five or six paragraphs on an emergency plan on AIDS
0:41:09 > 0:41:13immediately precede, "We are going to war with Iraq."
0:41:13 > 0:41:16We will bring to the Iraqi people food,
0:41:16 > 0:41:20and medicines, and supplies,
0:41:20 > 0:41:22and freedom.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25APPLAUSE
0:41:30 > 0:41:32GUNFIRE
0:41:33 > 0:41:35Death and destruction!
0:41:40 > 0:41:42From a political, tactical perspective,
0:41:42 > 0:41:47putting forward this compassionate conservative agenda served him,
0:41:47 > 0:41:51and Bono gave Bush a seal of approval, if you will.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00Even though people said, you know, "George Bush is using you."
0:42:00 > 0:42:03I beg to differ. I think we used him.
0:42:03 > 0:42:08And I think he wanted to be used, it turned out, in that way.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12I think we found that piece of him that wanted to show the world
0:42:12 > 0:42:15what he was for, as well as what he was against.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28Just a few months after the speech, Geldof set off to Ethiopia
0:42:28 > 0:42:32and arrived in the midst of yet another drought and famine.
0:42:34 > 0:42:39- TV:- Today, 12 million Ethiopians cannot feed themselves.
0:42:39 > 0:42:40Children reduced to scavenging.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47When Geldof came home,
0:42:47 > 0:42:52he found that NGOs around the globe had started to plan a new campaign,
0:42:52 > 0:42:56what they hoped would be the campaign of the decade.
0:42:58 > 0:43:02Britain would soon be hosting the eight richest nations,
0:43:02 > 0:43:04the G8, in 2005.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09The Chancellor, Gordon Brown, was for change,
0:43:09 > 0:43:14and was already in secret dialogue with some of the activists.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18I went to lots of the NGOs, and tried to persuade them that,
0:43:18 > 0:43:20if they came together, and they led a worldwide pressure,
0:43:20 > 0:43:23then we, the British government, could be in a position
0:43:23 > 0:43:26to persuade other governments as well.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30With the British government on board, Geldof, Bono, and Drummond
0:43:30 > 0:43:35decided this was their chance for an all-out attack on poverty.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38They would add their voices to the campaign
0:43:38 > 0:43:41and, this time, really make poverty history.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45All African debt should be abolished, aid doubled,
0:43:45 > 0:43:49and international trade rules completely reformed.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51Now, you were in another game.
0:43:51 > 0:43:56Now, you were really in whole other universes of possibility.
0:43:56 > 0:44:00This was the national government programme
0:44:00 > 0:44:05for the president of the G8. Poverty in Africa.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07That's it. We'd got there.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12- TV:- The aim could hardly be more ambitious,
0:44:12 > 0:44:14to drive poverty from the world.
0:44:14 > 0:44:20What was breathtaking was how Bobby and Bono set such a high goal.
0:44:20 > 0:44:26I said, "Whoa, there hasn't been a new aid programme of that scale
0:44:26 > 0:44:28"essentially ever."
0:44:28 > 0:44:33Poverty is not natural.
0:44:33 > 0:44:37It is man-made.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40And it can be overcome.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44With the stakes so high,
0:44:44 > 0:44:47Geldof would have to put up with some uncomfortable bedfellows,
0:44:47 > 0:44:50such as Ethiopia's president, Meles Zenawi.
0:44:52 > 0:44:54On British television screens,
0:44:54 > 0:44:58you would have seen pictures of Blair and Geldof and Meles Zenawi
0:44:58 > 0:45:00talking about making poverty history.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03If you had watched TV in Africa,
0:45:03 > 0:45:07you would have seen Ethiopian troops shooting dead
0:45:07 > 0:45:10over 200 opposition supporters on the streets of Addis Ababa
0:45:10 > 0:45:14who were protesting a massive stolen election.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44Yes, I've got to meet a guy I know puts down the opposition,
0:45:44 > 0:45:47imprisons people without trial.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50Yes, you have to bring it up.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53But you also have to deal with the reality that
0:45:53 > 0:45:56that person isn't going to go, "You know, Bob, you're right.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00"I'm going to free them all up, and I'm gonna leave power." No.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03They can dismiss me as just a pop singer, you know.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36While the British government gave its support,
0:46:36 > 0:46:40internationally, the campaign was failing to catch fire.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47No matter what they say, Make Poverty History wasn't working.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50So, we went to Blair, and he literally looked at me like this,
0:46:50 > 0:46:54and said, "I'll do the politics, but you do the public.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57"And if you can't do the public, the politics won't happen."
0:46:57 > 0:46:59That was exactly what he said.
0:47:03 > 0:47:04I don't know how it happened,
0:47:04 > 0:47:08but Bob turned up one day with his mobile phone at my office.
0:47:09 > 0:47:13And I thought, "Well, I wonder if I can be part of the emotional,
0:47:13 > 0:47:16"artistic, creative side of it?"
0:47:16 > 0:47:21So we had to just come up with stuff that would affect
0:47:21 > 0:47:24and emotionally challenge people.
0:47:24 > 0:47:28- VOICEOVER:- A child dies completely unnecessarily
0:47:28 > 0:47:33as a result of extreme poverty every three seconds.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37What we had set ourselves was to make this thing happen.
0:47:37 > 0:47:41And, as such, to make every politician who turned up
0:47:41 > 0:47:45aware of the fact that people in their country were aware of it,
0:47:45 > 0:47:49that there was a win to be had by supporting this issue.
0:47:49 > 0:47:52We can start to make poverty history.
0:47:52 > 0:47:53One.
0:47:53 > 0:47:55- By one.- By one.
0:47:55 > 0:48:01And then, finally, very late, Bob thought of the Live 8 idea.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03- TV:- 20 years ago, he launched Live Aid.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06Today, Bob Geldof unveiled the follow-up, Live 8.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09A series of concerts around the world in July
0:48:09 > 0:48:12to coincide with the G8 meeting, in Gleneagles,
0:48:12 > 0:48:14of the world's richest nations.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17It is the greatest collection of stars there has ever been.
0:48:17 > 0:48:23And it will never, ever, this will never ever happen again.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27MUTED SCREAMS
0:48:35 > 0:48:38Geldof's Live 8 concerts grabbed world attention
0:48:38 > 0:48:41on the eve of the G8 summit.
0:48:44 > 0:48:47CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK
0:48:47 > 0:48:51But, this time, engaging the public was a means to an end.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54Now, he was amassing a worldwide pressure group
0:48:54 > 0:48:58to appeal directly to those in power.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00I didn't want to raise money,
0:49:00 > 0:49:03because that would divert from the central political message.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06It was no longer about cash.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09It was about the lobby only.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11- MC:- Bob wants to show you something.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14Some of you were here 20 years ago,
0:49:14 > 0:49:16and some of you weren't even born.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20I want to show you, just in case you forgot, why we did this.
0:49:20 > 0:49:22Just watch with me this film.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28DISTRESSED VOICES IN BACKGROUND
0:49:36 > 0:49:39Before the concerts, Geldof had found out
0:49:39 > 0:49:43that the girl who almost died in front of the world media in 1984
0:49:43 > 0:49:47had survived, thanks to international aid.
0:50:07 > 0:50:12When Geldof finally met Birhan, he saw an opportunity.
0:50:13 > 0:50:19Geldof immediately realized what a wonderful media event it was.
0:50:19 > 0:50:26It sort of validated everything he'd been banging on about for two decades.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31She had 10 minutes to live, 20 years ago.
0:50:31 > 0:50:36And, because we did a concert in this city and in Philadelphia,
0:50:36 > 0:50:40she's here tonight, this little girl.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42Birhan!
0:50:42 > 0:50:45Birhan comes on, looking like a princess
0:50:45 > 0:50:48and everybody suddenly realized why they were there.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51APPLAUSE
0:50:58 > 0:50:59CHEERING
0:51:08 > 0:51:13We come to you, with 3.8 billion people in our back pockets.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15CHEERING
0:51:15 > 0:51:17How...
0:51:17 > 0:51:25Tell me, how can these eight men refuse us now?
0:51:25 > 0:51:27How can they refuse us?
0:51:27 > 0:51:29CHEERING
0:51:40 > 0:51:42The eight top politicians signed up,
0:51:42 > 0:51:45not only to cancelling remaining debt,
0:51:45 > 0:51:50but also to doubling aid with 25 billion
0:51:50 > 0:51:54So, was this a success on aid? 10 out of 10.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56On debt? Eight out of 10.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59Today is a great day.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07However, the politicians almost halved their promises on aid,
0:52:07 > 0:52:10and left really important issues, like trade, untouched.
0:52:13 > 0:52:18Had they managed to get away without quite footing the bill?
0:52:19 > 0:52:22If all you have managed to do
0:52:22 > 0:52:24is to get a little bit more money out of the G8,
0:52:24 > 0:52:27you know, actually, that you haven't got to the root of the problem.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32The difference has to be made through changing the rules,
0:52:32 > 0:52:35and completely restructuring the global economy.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38These celebrities,
0:52:38 > 0:52:43if economic growth and poverty reduction are their motivations,
0:52:43 > 0:52:44they have failed miserably.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49There is far too much hubris going around.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53"Oh, we think we can do this, we're going to change the world!"
0:52:53 > 0:52:56Let's have a bit more humility about what we can achieve.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03It annoyed people because it looked so simplistic.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06That was just the pop song, that was just the T-shirt,
0:53:06 > 0:53:08that was the hook line.
0:53:08 > 0:53:12You can't write off a movement that has changed the world
0:53:12 > 0:53:14because of its slogan.
0:53:14 > 0:53:19It was the biggest breakthrough in one summit ever on poverty.
0:53:19 > 0:53:23Millions more children now live who would have died.
0:53:23 > 0:53:2440 million more children go to school.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27The breakthroughs on malaria, on HIV and AIDS,
0:53:27 > 0:53:29have been to do with these big campaigns
0:53:29 > 0:53:32that millions of people have taken part in.
0:53:34 > 0:53:36It was a big step forward, even if it wasn't everything.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42Has that aid led to a larger number of people having access
0:53:42 > 0:53:47to education and health, and clean water, and roads, and housing,
0:53:47 > 0:53:50and food when they need it? It almost certainly has.
0:53:50 > 0:53:52So, it hasn't made poverty history,
0:53:52 > 0:53:55but it's made a hell of a lot of people's lives a lot better
0:53:55 > 0:53:57as a consequence of what they did.
0:54:01 > 0:54:06Since 2005, Africa has become much more peaceful.
0:54:06 > 0:54:10Extreme poverty is finally slightly decreasing.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12And, in a transformed Ethiopia,
0:54:12 > 0:54:16school attendance has increased dramatically.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22Birhan Woldu, now a mother herself,
0:54:22 > 0:54:26is a director of a charity that helps build new schools.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47You have got a lot of problems.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50But, nonetheless, the reality is that Ethiopia is
0:54:50 > 0:54:53one of the fastest growing economies of Africa
0:54:53 > 0:54:56and six African countries are among the fastest-growing
0:54:56 > 0:54:57top 12 economies in the world.
0:54:59 > 0:55:03How much of all this is due to the efforts of Bono and Geldof
0:55:03 > 0:55:05is harder to say.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08Even today, it's difficult to ascertain
0:55:08 > 0:55:12the true economic impact of aid.
0:55:12 > 0:55:17I'm pretty uncomfortable attributing too much of Africa's success
0:55:17 > 0:55:20to what we've done.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24And certainly, too much of Africa's success to money that we've given.
0:55:24 > 0:55:26We are side players.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31We are not the drivers.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34They are the drivers, and they are going to do it themselves.
0:55:34 > 0:55:38And what we have to do is find ways of being good partners.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44The targets for lobbying are also changing.
0:55:44 > 0:55:48They aren't always about matters of life and death now.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52Instead, there are issues, such as more openness in trade deals,
0:55:52 > 0:55:56and how to make agriculture in Africa more effective.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59Sir Bob Geldof, musician, chair of Band Aid and Live Aid...
0:55:59 > 0:56:02After nearly 30 years of campaigning,
0:56:02 > 0:56:06the role that Bono and Geldof have to play in Africa's future
0:56:06 > 0:56:09is under more scrutiny than ever.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12What is this? Is it like a 10 second thing, or a 20 second thing?
0:56:12 > 0:56:15Like a 30, 40 second thing. >
0:56:15 > 0:56:19For the time being, it is still the case that,
0:56:19 > 0:56:21when you're trying to develop constituency
0:56:21 > 0:56:26in North America or Europe, to help fight poverty in Africa,
0:56:26 > 0:56:33you're going to often, still, resort to working with famous friends.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36It's a travesty that that is the world we live in,
0:56:36 > 0:56:37but it is the world we live in.
0:56:59 > 0:57:03Africa has changed a lot, and they are very mature now, people,
0:57:03 > 0:57:05and they know what they want.
0:57:08 > 0:57:11Bono's lobbying organization, DATA, now renamed ONE,
0:57:11 > 0:57:13does have African advisers,
0:57:13 > 0:57:18and offices have been set up in Nigeria and South Africa.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25So now we have a situation where
0:57:25 > 0:57:28African activists are harassing their own governments.
0:57:28 > 0:57:34So, that's exciting to me, because that's nothing to do with us.
0:57:34 > 0:57:40And, I hope, soon, you know, a rock 'n' roller in his 50s
0:57:40 > 0:57:45will just be told to fuck off. And, with pleasure.
0:57:45 > 0:57:50Because this stuff is just happening anyway. That would be a thrill.
0:58:05 > 0:58:09Get an insight into the trend of celebrities campaigning against poverty
0:58:09 > 0:58:12and find out more by going to:
0:58:15 > 0:58:18And following links to the Open University.
0:58:19 > 0:58:23Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd